This collection contains over 75 films for use in the AP United States History course. The resources for Units 8 and 9 are separated by topic.
Pre-1900 (Periods 4-6):
The films and lessons in this section focus on two political party conventions of the 1800s and an essential period of indigenous history that began during westward expansion and continued for more than a century.
The Birth of Party Conventions: the Anti-Masonic Party (1831)
Election of 1860: Slavery Splits the Democrats
Schools Built on Secrets: Understanding Boarding Schools for Native Americans
Period 7: 1890-1945:
These resources will help students examine political controversies of the early 1900s along with aspects of the New Deal and World War II.
1912 Republican Convention: TR Starts the Bull Moose Party
1924 Democratic Convention: Tension Over Immigration
Whites-Only Suburbs: How the New Deal Shut Out Black Homebuyers
Labor Union Activism: Advocating for Worker Rights
What Jesse Owens’s Story Tells Us About Sports and Politics – Mini Lesson
How a 1944 Supreme Court Ruling on Internment Camps Led to a Reckoning
Period 8: 1945-1980 Topic 8.2, The Cold War from 1945-1980
Diplomatic, economic, cultural, and military interactions between empires, nations, and peoples shape the development of America and America’s increasingly important role in the world.
The Cold War: From the Truman Doctrine to the Berlin Airlift
The Korean War
The Cold War Space Race
Topic 8.3 The Red Scare
Films aligned with this topic focus on the actions and legacy of Joseph McCarthy and his crusade to expose suspected or imagined communists.
McCarthyism: Populism and the Press
‘No’ on Impeachment Unites Today’s GOP. In the 1950s, a Renegade Dared to Break Ranks – Mini Lesson
Topics 8.7 & 8.8 America as a World Power and the Vietnam War
These resources center on the emergence of Cold War flashpoints and debates.
Atomic Fears and the Arms Race: Nuclear Testing
The Arab-Israeli War: America’s Role
Cuban Missile Crisis
Vietnam War: Agent Orange
Topic 8.9 The Great Society
These films and lessons examine Lyndon Johnson’s election as president and the ensuing midterm to provide context for the changing political dynamic in the country.
1964 Republican Convention: Chaos & Conservatism
Midterm Elections: 1966 Midterms Signal a Realignment, Shaping Today’s Parties
Topic 8.10 The African American Civil Rights Movement
This portion of the collection will help students examine the causes, methods, triumphs and limitations of the African American Civil Rights Movement.
The Geography of Racism: Housing Policy
Dr. Martin Luther King at Gee’s Bend
Poll Watchers and the Long History of Voter Intimidation
Protests For Racial Justice: A Long History
Brown v. Board of Ed and Busing Promised Integration. Why Are Schools Still Segregated?
The Civil Rights Movement: Black Power and Sports
Topic 8.11 The Civil Rights Movement Expands
These resources center the experiences of women, indigenous, Asian American, Latinx and LGBTQ+ communities in their fight for political power.
From Women’s Suffrage to the ERA
Suffrage for Black Women
Second Wave Feminism, the Equal Rights Amendment and Phyllis Schlafly
Vincent Chin and Asian American Civil Rights
Transgender Rights, Won Over Decades, Face New Restrictions
The Indian Child Welfare Act
The 1968 L.A. School Walkouts
Topic 8.13 The Environment and Natural Resources from 1968 to 1980
Geographic and environmental factors, including competition over and debates about natural resources, shaped public policy and social movements.
Love Canal and the Environmental Protection Agency
The Roots of Recycling
The End of the Cold War: Nuclear Winter
The Birth of the Environmental Movement: DDT and Rachel Carson
Nuclear Power: From Three Mile Island to Fukushima
Topic 8.14 Society in Transition
Debates in American social, political, and economic life shaped government policy, institutions, political parties, and the rights of citizens.
Political Debates and the Kennedy-Nixon Debate
Conspiracy Theories: From JFK’s Assassination to Today
Watts Uprising and the Militarization of Policing
1968 Democratic National Convention: The Mess in Chicago
Presidents v. Press: How the Pentagon Papers Leak Set Up First Amendment Showdowns
How Watergate and Citizens United Shaped Campaign Finance Law
George C. Wallace and the Politics of Segregation
The War on Drugs: The New Face of Heroin
Extremism, ISIS and the Doomsday Cults of the 1970s
Stealing J. Edgar Hoover’s Secrets – Mini Lesson
Jimmy Carter and the Rise of Evangelical Voters
1976 Republican Convention: Ford vs Reagan
Period 9: 1980-Present Topic 9.2 Reagan and Conservatism
The emergence of Ronald Reagan and a successful brand of conservative politics influenced the political, social and economic changes of this time period. Some of these resources extend beyond Reagan’s time in office, but were heavily influenced by conservative politics.
Why Supreme Court Confirmations Have Become So Bitter
Why We Can’t Have a Civil Conversation About Guns
Emergence of the AIDS Crisis
Midterm Elections: How 1994 Midterms Set Off an Era of Divisive Politics
Public Policy: Welfare Reform
The Clinton Presidency: “Zero Tolerance”
Topic 9.3 The End of the Cold War
The films and lessons aligned with this topic focus on the legacy of Cold War policies, both foreign and domestic.
The Cold War and the Nuclear Weapons Threat
The Space Race: The Challenger Tragedy
The Cold War in Latin America: Massacre in El Salvador
Dictators and Civil Wars: The Cold War in Latin America
Reagan: Foreign Policy and a Story from Central America (El Salvador)
Topic 9.5 Migration and Immigration in the 1990s and 2000s
New sets of push and pull factors shaped immigration to the United States and influenced both economic and cultural debates.
Immigration in the 1990s: Proposition 187
How the U.S. Has Treated Wartime Refugees
Sanctuary Cities: An Uproar That Began Long Ago – Mini Lesson
Topic 9.6 Challenges of the 21st Century
At the turn of the century, the United States faced external threats from terrorist groups and internal challenges to disaster response and democratic institutions.
Campaigns and Elections: The 2000 Election
9/11 Heroes: Surviving the Biggest Attack on U.S. Soil
How the Military Response to 9/11 Led to Two Decades of War in Afghanistan
Aftermath of the War on Terror
Why the Supreme Court Endorsed, Then Limited Affirmative Action
2004 Democratic Convention: The Importance of the Keynote Speech
Hurricane Katrina and Disaster Response – Mini Lesson
The Minneapolis Bridge Collapse
Extremism in America
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